


Day By Day

by chase_acow



Category: Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-08-14
Updated: 2007-08-14
Packaged: 2017-10-17 18:45:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/180049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chase_acow/pseuds/chase_acow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Earth is in ruins, SG-1 is broken, and John gets to know Vala.  Every day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Day By Day

_**Fic: Day By Day - G**_  
Recipient: [](http://twistingflame.livejournal.com/profile)[**twistingflame**](http://twistingflame.livejournal.com/)  
Creator: Renae [](http://chase-acow.livejournal.com/profile)[**chase_acow**](http://chase-acow.livejournal.com/)

Title: Day By Day  
Rating: G for kisses  
Prompt: apocalypse, hankerchief, sane enough when sober  
Disclaimer: La la, not mine.  
Spoilers: None it’s just enough AU that way.  
Summary: Earth is in ruins, SG-1 is broken, and John gets to know Vala. Every day.

John backtracked, did a double take, and poked his head into a small training room. The room was off the beaten track but was on the route he took from his room to the cafeteria. It was washed with the warm brown and pink light of morning that splashed through the upper windows and fell onto an almost empty floor. A lone figure stretched out in the middle of the mat, legs spread and back arched.

He hadn’t been by the training room this early for several weeks, so he hadn’t realized anyone was using it while most people were at breakfast. John leaned up against the doorway and watched for a moment longer until the figure straightened and he saw who it was. Instantly he straightened and ducked back into the hallway, pressing his back against the cool wall.

SG-1 had been on Atlantis for a little over three months and John had yet to actually try to get to know them. They were beat up and torn down, and he knew that they needed all the help they could get, but he couldn’t help feeling annoyed at the inconvenience. Rodney didn’t have time for anything but Carter, Elizabeth was still stuck in meetings concerning Atlantis’ new position with the Global Administration of Earth, and he, or rather Lorne now, was busy trying to find a place where Mitchell could still be of use. Nobody really tried to get Dr. Jackson to do anything he didn’t want to do.

It was a headache, an organizational nightmare if he chose to exercise his bluntest honesty. It was hard enough to learn that Earth had been invaded and nearly overrun with the Ori, add in the number of casualties they suffered, the new global authority, and their problems still occurring that were entirely Pegasus related and John was ready to pull a _Shining_ over the next administrative paper cut he received.

Earth was now torn in half by those who still wanted to worship the Ori despite their defeat and those who still believed in freedom. Everyone who had a hand in the Ori downfall found themselves in danger as if they had big red bull’s eyes on their backs. That was how they’d lost Jack O’Neill to a suicide bomber; just one fanatic was all it took. It hadn’t been easy in either Galaxy, and John knew it was the least they could do to grant the remaining members of SG-1 sanctuary.

That didn’t mean he had to like it. John left Vala to her solitude and continued on his way to the mess.

**

A week later, John had stopped by the training room five mornings out of seven to watch silently as Vala moved through a training exercise. Finally, he decided to bow to the inevitable and stepped inside, clearing his throat.

“Hi Vala,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck and trying not to sound like too big of a dork. “I’m Col-”

“Colonel John Sheppard, military commander of the Ancient outpost Atlantis,” she replied, sounding as if she were reading off a teleprompter. Her neck was slightly moist and bits of her hair that escaped her pigtails were sticking to her skin. “I know. Cameron made me flashcards with names and pictures.”

She turned her back returning to her stretches, bending low to grab her calves in front of him. John couldn’t help but appreciate the view, but lacking anything intelligent to say, he let himself back out into the hallway.

**

“-Cameron made me flashcards,” Vala finished and walked over to the bench and lifted one leg to stretch out her hamstring. She was wearing black spandex this time, and it was hard for John to keep his mind focused.

“So,” John said, looking around the room at the windows and equipment hung up on the walls, “you settling in all right?”

Vala glanced up at him surprised, looking at him from an almost upside down position as she bounced slightly inching her hands down to her sneakers. “Day by day,” she said dismissively trying again to turn her back as she reached for the other leg.

“It must be hard,” John tried again, walking over to run his hands over the practice sticks that Teyla kept here for those who didn’t have their own set. “I can’t imagine.”

“Yes well I’m sure all that air between your pointy ears takes up a lot of room,” she said straightening up and brushing her bangs out of her eyes. She narrowed her gaze at him, cocking her head and crossing her arms, “People don’t usually talk to me. At least, as I understand it people don’t usually talk to me.”

John rolled his eyes turning back to face her and meet her gaze, “I’m sure they’re sad to miss your sparkling personality.”

The second it was out of his mouth, John wanted to take it back. She was so small and alone in a universe where she was singularly unique. Having the knowledge of the Ori downloaded into her brain by her daughter left her able to take out the Ori, but had completely wiped out part of her memory and all her short term memory. Everyday she woke up remembering nothing that had come before. He wished desperately that he could have just kept his mouth shut, but then she smiled.

It was a small smile, self depreciative and she shook her head. “I deserved that, I guess,” she said pulling some stray hairs behind her ear and looking at the floor. “I’m sorry, Colonel, I shouldn’t have snapped at you.”

“No problem,” John waved her off and shoved his hands back in his pockets. He sidled back toward the door, “I’ve had far worse insults heaped on my head. I’ll just let you get back to it then.”

Her eyes followed him all the way to the door and out to the hallway.

**

“Yeah, I know,” John said holding up his hand to cut Vala off. “Mitchell made you flashcards. Would you like me to show you how to spar with the fighting sticks?”

Vala let her mouth shut with a small click and lowered her head, looking at him through her eyelashes. He stood still letting her look her fill before she finally turned away. “What’s the point?” she asked rifling through her gym bag. “I’ll just forget by tomorrow. I come here because people leave me alone; no one has to bother trying to help me feel ‘useful’.”

John shrugged his shoulders, dropping his bag and kneeling down to grab his sticks from the open zipper. He lifted them and let the smooth surfaces slide against the calluses of his hand. “Sounds like a bunch of excuses to me,” he said idly getting back to his feet and twirling the sticks. “You don’t really know why you forget, maybe your muscles will remember.”

“What’s in this for you?” Vala demanded, though she did eye the sticks hanging close by.

Shrugging again, John began a warm up routine, it was one of the first and easiest that Teyla had taught him, but he could do it well. If he were honest with himself, he was showing off a little too. “I just figured you could use some company,” he said trying for the soft sell after she had completely shut him down yesterday.

“All right,” Vala said slowly, bracing her legs at shoulder width. “How do we start?”

**

“I think you’re getting better,” John panted, rubbing at a spot on his elbow where Vala had just scored on him. Every morning he could spend with her, it took less time to warm her back up to the basics. She was unpredictable, but more surprisingly, she was good company.

“Maybe,” Vala taunted, showing a spark that Sam had told him was once always present. She ducked low, feinting to the left and caught him unawares with a thwap to his right ribcage. “Maybe, you’re just getting slow. Are you holding back on me?”

“Maybe,” John replied, thankful that neither of them were interested in hitting in a full strength. It really wasn’t much more than a slight workout to him, but he thought it was helping his balance.

Cameron had caught up with him yesterday, leaning heavily on the cane he still wasn’t used to using. John ached for Cameron sometimes, he couldn’t image being stuck behind a desk and cut off from missions and the sky. He wasn’t proud of it, but seeing a possible future there kept him from keeping company with one of the three current full bird Colonels on Atlantis.

 _“Hey Sheppard,” Cameron greeted him coming up to stand shoulder to shoulder with him on a balcony looking out over the western horizon. “I wanted to thank you. For spending time with Vala.”_

 _“You don’t have to,” John said, enjoying the breeze blowing up off the ocean. It had been harder to avoid SG-1 lately since Rodney had plugged Sam into the visual network of Atlantis and Daniel started spending time with Ronon. “I enjoy it.”_

 _Cameron nodded, hooking the cane up on the railing in front of him, “I can tell the difference. She seems happier.”_

 _John nodded, “It seems to be going around these days.” Enough time had passed on Atlantis that mostly things were back to normal, or as normal as it ever was. Even Lorne seemed to be wandering around with a dopey grin fixed on his face._

 _“I’m just saying,” Cameron continued, turning his head to finally look at John, “that if you hurt her, I’ll beat you to death with my cane.”_

 _His chest constricted and he turned his own head, meeting Cameron’s eyes, “That sounds fair. You want to come to my room tonight for a drink?”_

 _“Yeah, that sounds fair,” Cameron said thoughtfully picking his cane back up and limping back inside._

“Maybe,” John drawled slowly pulling his mind back to his present. He watched until Vala twitched and then made his move, tackling her and pinning her to the ground, “I’m just lulling you into a false sense of security.”

She grinned and he beamed down at her shifting his weight so that he was supported by his knees. She laughed for the first time, and John thought it was the most wonderful thing he’d heard in a long time.

**

“John!” Vala yelled entering the training room later than usual and smiling brightly at him. This morning she had one of his camouflage bandanas tying her hair up from her neck, “I’m happy to see you!”

John looked around, thinking wildly for a moment that there must be someone standing behind him with a hidden camera. Normally he beat her here, gave her a while to get a hang of her life on Atlantis. “You are?” he asked slowly raising his eyebrows.

“Well,” Vala looked a little uncertain, shifting and raising a finger to chew on the nail. “I wrote myself a note yesterday that I should be happy to see you. Is that okay?”

“Yeah,” John smiled walking over to take her hand and rub her palm with his thumbs. He brought it up to brush his lips over her knuckles smiling again into the softness of her skin. “Yeah, that’s okay.”

**

  
A/N: This fic fits in with [Perks, For Lack of a Better Name](http://chase-acow.livejournal.com/76430.html#cutid1) which is Cameron's point of view. Read that if you want to find out why Lorne has a dopey grin, but each should stand on their own.


End file.
